min•ute1(min′it),USA pronunciationn., v.,-ut•ed, -ut•ing,adj. n.
Timethe sixtieth part (1⁄60) of an hour; sixty seconds.
an indefinitely short space of time:Wait a minute!
an exact point in time; instant; moment:Come here this minute!
minutes, the official record of the proceedings at a meeting of a society, committee, or other group.
British Terms[Chiefly Brit.]a written summary, note, or memorandum.
a rough draft, as of a document.
[Geom.]the sixtieth part of a degree of angular measure, often represented by the sign ′, as in 12° 10′, which is read as 12 degrees and 10 minutes. Cf. angle1 (def. 1c).
Idiomsup to the minute, modern; up-to-date:The building design is up to the minute.
v.t.
to time exactly, as movements or speed.
to make a draft of (a document or the like).
to record in a memorandum; note down.
to enter in the minutes of a meeting.
adj.
prepared in a very short time:minute pudding.
Medieval Latin minūta, noun, nominal use of feminine of minūtusminute2
Middle English 1350–1400
2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged jiffy, second. Minute,instant,moment refer to small amounts of time. A minute, properly denoting 60 seconds, is often used loosely for any very short space of time (and may be interchangeable with second):I'll be there in just a minute.An instant is practically a point in time, with no duration, though it is also used to mean a perceptible amount of time:not an instant's delay.Moment denotes much the same as instant, though with a somewhat greater sense of duration (but somewhat less than minute):It will only take a moment.